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Saturday, October 23, 2010

Cinnamon Candy Apples - Pink Saturday

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...It's hard to imagine a fall harvest without candied apples. While caramel apples have become more popular, the cinnamon variety predates them by 50 years. Candied apples were created at the turn of the 20th century by William Kolb, a New Jersey candy maker. He made them to use as part of his Christmas display and they rapidly became popular with his customers. His approach was simple. He dipped apples into a candy made from sugar, corn syrup, red dye and cinnamon oil. As the candy hardened it formed a glistening shell around the apple and the candied apple as we know it was born. The apples are still prepared in this way. If you are comfortable working with a candy thermometer you'll find these easy to make. There are, however, a few pitfalls that you want to avoid. For openers, make sure your apples are wax free. Since this is not a recipe that can be tasted as it cooks, be generous with the amount of flavoring you use up front. You should be able to find bottled cinnamon flavoring in the spice aisle of major grocery chains. It can also be ordered online. Make sure you use a pot that is deep enough to allow dipping the apples and that sticks inserted into the apples are strong enough to hold them. If the syrup becomes too thick don't be afraid to reheat it and when you're finished dipping, make sure you put the apples down on a buttered baking sheet or parchment paper. Wax paper will melt. Finally, these are best eaten within 24 hours of making. Their appearance begins to deteriorate after that. This recipe will make enough syrup to coat 12 small apples. It may be doubled. Here's the recipe.

Directions:Boil water, syrup, and sugar together until a brown caramel color is reached (at about 250 degrees F on a candy thermometer). Remove from heat and add cinnamon and red coloring. Cool slightly. Meanwhile force a stick into the core of each apple. Dip apples 1 at a time into heavy red syrup, drain well, and place on a buttered baking sheet or parchment paper to cool. Yield: 12 small candied apples.

I've never cared for caramel apples but cinnamon apples -- and there was a shop in KC that we used to get them at -- Topsy's (which makes the best cheese popcorn in the world!!!) -- ah, . . . . memories of days gone by --

Candy apples are such eye candy! I am, however, more interested in the following recipe for chicken wings. As one who attended college in the vicinity of the Anchor Bar, I am picky about my wings. However, we always bake them, making for a healthier snack, and are actually okay with that. Of course, the sauce is Anchor original in our home!

Do you have an alternative I could use for corn syrup and still have the nice hard yummy crunch of the candy? Living in HK makes some product availability challenging but my teenagers still crave the foods from home.

complete failure.... followed directions to a 'T'.... the candy didn't harden. now i look at my candy thermometer's guide and 250º's max says 'hard ball'.isn't at least 'soft crack' what we should shoot for at 280º?

jen, I'm sorry the recipe did not work for you. It was developed by Paula Deen and can be found on the Food Network website along with reviews of others who tried the recipe. I've made these myself and never had a problem.

Alexandrea, you could try any of the three you suggested. You could also try a simple syrup or agave syrup. I can't guarantee what you results will be, but the major reason for using corn syrup is to prevent crystal formation, so in theory they all should work.

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